We all know that the key in using technology in the classroom is to use it to enhance student learning and provide opportunities for students to creatively express what they have learned. Since the value of an app is in it’s application to learning, how can we find apps that match our learning objectives? Here are two sites that may help you.

Apptivities.org has a list of activities – and the apps you can use – to get you started in the right direction.

The EdTechTeacher.org site has a page where you can search by the kind of activity – and even device – not limiting you to the iPad.

Would you like to create a lesson based on a great YouTube video? TED-Ed is a free educational website for teachers and learners. You will find carefully curated educational videos created by other educators on just about any topic. This platform also allows you to take any useful educational video, not just TED’s, and easily create a customized lesson around the video. You can distribute the lessons, publicly or privately, and track their impact a class, or an individual student. Creating an account is free and no account is required for students to view your lessons.

Whether we are using a Smartboard, iPad, or computer, we can
address multiple learning modalities (visual, auditory, tactile/kinesthetic), along with multiple intelligence’s and learning styles by using interactive web sites. Here is a wonderful list organized by subject, where you can find “all of the best K-5 online, interactive, educational games and simulations in one place!” Check some of these out – students love them.

A post on Edutopia.com has a list of 6 ipad apps that you can use with your class for Creative Writing. A few of them could be used as classroom activities (by showing your iPad screen via your digital projector) to show steps in the writing process as well as modeling it. All the apps listed cost a modest amount, yet for kids who have trouble putting pen to paper, just might inspire them to get started on a great story.

Turn your students into budding animators! There are a variety of easy to use animation apps, some of which are free, to capture and stitch together photos of characters and objects into seamless, fluent animated movies. Best of all, the process of designing, scripting and staging animations has tremendous educational potential, and can be a wonderful mix of art, science, history, language arts, and even math. Using these iPad apps, and materials such as clay, Lego’s, drawings, or toy figures, students can create short animated sequences illustrating or teaching a concept – all while involving student teams in collaborative discussion, collective imagination and creativity, problem solving, critical analysis and a lot of teamwork. Students will be completely engaged while you observe learning outcomes that they are not even aware of!
Here’s a few apps you can take a look at:

Looking for digital content for your ipads or chromebooks? PowerMyLearning is a collection of engaging free activities including academic games, interactives, and videos that are searchable by subject, grade, and Common Core standard. Curated by a team of educators, PowerMyLearning also includes several sets of tools for creating a class site, such as playlists, a student dashboard, and other tools. Quiz Packs, available for select content areas and topics, focus on a specific Common Core State Standard and contain one of PowerMyLearning‘s top digital learning activities plus two short quizzes.

PowerMyLearning Resources come from a number of well-known educational content providers such as ReadWriteThink, PBS, BBC, and LearnZillion. Teachers can set up level and interest-appropriate activities, or students can direct their own learning by choosing activities of interest to them. Both adults and students also have access to reports that monitor progress.

Digital literacy is integrated into PowerMyLearning by providing students the ability to choose avatars, create profiles, and tackle special challenges to earn more power for their “Wizmos.”
The PowerMyLearning collection is constantly growing and adding new activities and features. Create a free login and explore activities for your students at at http://powermylearning.org/

The new OS (operating system) for the iPad is version 7. It offers a very different look and feel from version 6, with some new functions and differences in where options are found.Here’s a good summary of some of the changes with respect to many of the basic features.

We want kids to use the iPad(s) we have in the classroom, and we don’t want to worry about it getting broken. Having a good cover on the iPad is essential, yet the price can approach $100 for some of the more rugged ones. Here are two covers that are less expensive, yet offer good protection:

I’ve mentioned Socrative as a great online assessment tool. It’s free and allow students to use their own internet enabled device, such as a smart phone or iPad, in the classroom to answer formative assessments. Of course you could use computers or other school devices such as iPads or Chromebooks.

Another site that I just reviewed is Infuselearning.com , and I think I like this one even more! It’s also easy to use yet has some features that Socrative does not have. It has a Draw Response where you can have an image/picture displayed on the student screen on which they draw or otherwise annotate. Students could label maps or diagrams, for example. You can also have a Sorting question where students sort a list – something not possible in Socrative. You can also see the results of your assessment live, without having to download the results, and can see what each student has answered for each question. This is a great online tool and for using in the classroom.